Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic & Planned Parenthood of Nassau County Denounce Passage of Pence Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood

For Immediate Release: Jan. 30, 2014

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(Hawthorne & Hempstead, NY) – Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic (PPHP) and Planned Parenthood of Nassau County  (PPNC) join Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the 82 other affiliates nationwide in denouncing the passage of Representative Mike Pence’s amendment to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funds for any purpose, including providing basic primary and lifesaving preventive health care to women and families.

Pence offered the amendment to the FY11 Continuing Resolution, which completely eliminates the national family planning program, Title X.

“This extreme and dangerous piece of legislation targeting Planned Parenthood, one of America’s largest and most trusted health care providers is radically out of step with mainstream American values and it is out of line with the issues voters want Congress to focus on,” said Reina Schiffrin, President/CEO, PPHP.

Rep. Pence’s amendment would specifically prohibit Planned Parenthood from receiving any federal funds, including Medicaid, to provide lifesaving breast and cervical cancer screenings, affordable birth control, HIV testing, and testing and treatment for other sexually transmitted infections. The Pence amendment also reverses a long-standing patient protection in Medicaid law that ensures that Medicaid patients can access family planning services with any willing provider.

To underscore the far reach of Rep. Pence’s proposal, it would also cut off 48 percent of Planned Parenthood patients – approximately 1.4 million people – from their source of health care.  Regionally, PPHP & PPNC provides care to over 48,000 patients each year. Eliminating Title X and Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood means over 20,800 patients may have nowhere else to turn to for their health care.

“Despite the fact that more than 90 percent of the care Planned Parenthood health centers provide is preventive and that one in five American women has received care from a Planned Parenthood health center during her lifetime, Representative Pence and the leadership in the House is determined to defund Planned Parenthood because we also provide women with abortion care.  We are counting on our Senators to reject this extreme approach and guarantee the millions of Americans who count on Planned Parenthood the health care they both need and deserve,” added JoAnn D. Smith, President & CEO, PPNC.
 

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